Award-winning rapper Kendrick Lamar delivered a stellar halftime performance filled with complex symbolism at the 2025 Super Bowl LIX. While viewers expected a typical entertainment-based concert, Lamar instead called out the current political state of the United States, specifically, the racism and division the country is experiencing, thus upsetting many football fans in attendance.
Senior Jamie Verdul, the president of PPCHS’s Black Student Union, says, “[During] a time when racism still poisons the very foundation of our society, his performance served as both a mirror and megaphone, forcing Americans today to confront their own reflection.”
During the halftime show, Lamar proclaims, “It’s a cultural divide, I’mma get it on the floor. 40 acres and a mule, this is bigger than the music. They tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence.” According to The Root, an online magazine that focuses on news from an African American perspective, the phrase refers to compensation enslaved African Americans received when they were emancipated after the Civil War.
“I thought his performance, specifically that line, was a wake up call to people about not just the racial inequalities we have, but also the class inequalities we can see now,” says sophomore Tsarina Brunson. “It’s about how the rich get to sit back and enjoy the fruits of the labor of the working class.”
Lamar’s line “They tried to rig the game, but you can’t fake influence” suggests that the upper class, typically white, take advantage of the working class and people of color by “rigging” their ability to climb the socio-economic ladder.
The stage itself is also loaded with symbolism. It is organized in the shape of a video game controller and Lamar’s performance is dubbed “the great American game,” likely insinuating that the social hierarchy within the United States is a game with different rules for different players. During Lamar’s performance of “HUMBLE,” the background dancers form the U.S. flag with a divide in the middle, demonstrating the cultural divide within the country. Later, the dancers form an “inner circle” and everyone else outside of it falls. This symbolizes the idea that only those in the upper class can survive unscathed.
“The symbolism… was resistance, a reminder that silence is complicity and that the fight for justice must echo louder than ever… It’s easy to blame and point fingers at victims of racism and call them sensitive when you have never been a victim of [racism] yourself,” Verdul comments. Many who were disappointed by Lamar’s performance were quick to judge him and the themes behind his performance.
Lamar also brought out guests SZA, Samuel L. Jackson, and Serena Williams during his performance. Jackson plays the role of Uncle Sam, a longtime symbol of the United States. He creates a sense of irony as Uncle Sam is usually depicted as a white man and, in this case, is meant to represent the typical patriotic football fan. Throughout the show, he makes snide remarks about Lamar’s performance, calling it “Too loud, too reckless, too ghetto,” representing those who view black culture as ghetto or “hood.”
Lamar invited SZA on stage to perform their hit songs “All the Stars” and “luther.” Throughout her set, SZA delivers a sweet and melodic performance, to which Samuel L. Jackson’s Uncle Sam claims, “That’s what America wants! Nice and calm.” This reinforces one of the themes of the show that everything controversial, specifically racism, must be kept sweet and respectful, despite its abhorrence.
During “Not Like Us,” the camera pans to tennis star Serena Williams, who is crip walking, a dance that stems from the 1970s Crips gang from Compton, California. In 2012, Williams earned gold at the London Olympics and celebrated by crip walking. This was met with backlash and resentment over its roots in “gang culture.”
If anything is garnered from Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show, it can be the importance of always questioning the narrative. During a time when racism and hate are condoned in the U.S., citizens must examine multiple perspectives. Seek the truth, not just the first opinion. There is always more than meets the eye. Always think, who is really telling the story, and whose story is it to tell?
